1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to universal remote controllers for controlling appliances and particularly to apparatus and methods for controlling turning on and off appliances.
2. Description of the Related Art
A universal remote controller usually requires a user to select which device to control, before pressing buttons to send commands to the device. For example, the user may select to control a television. Then when the user selects channel up or channel down on the universal remote controller, the channel on the television will change accordingly. If the user selects to control a cable box, then the same channel up and channel down selections on the keyboard of the universal remote controller will result in the channel changing on the cable box. Usually once the user selects a device for the universal remote control to control, such as a video cassette recorder (VCR), then the remote controller will stay in the mode of controlling the VCR until the user selects to control another device by pressing the appropriate appliance select key on the keypad of the universal remote controller.
When the user is using the universal remote controller for turning on or off appliances, it is particularly important that the universal remote controller be in the proper mode so that the correct appliance is turned on or off. As described before, the universal remote control is placed in a particular mode by selecting an appliance to control. For example, if the user wishes to turn power on to a television, the user presses the television select key and then the power key. Later if the user wishes to turn off power to a video cassette recorder then the user can press the VCR select key and then the power key.
If the user has cable and a cable box, the universal remote controller is typically in the cable mode during viewing, because the user needs to change channels using the cable box. When viewing is finished, the user typically desires to turn off the TV and leave the cable box on. However, since the universal remote controller is in the cable mode during viewing, often the power button is pushed while the universal remote controller is in the cable mode rather than the TV mode. When the cable box is turned off, the cable box output signal to the television will also be turned off and the television screen will turn to "snow." The user then will need to change the universal remote controller to the television mode by pressing the television select key and then turn off the television, by pressing the power key. In this case, when the user wishes to view television again, and to view a channel that is on cable, then the user has to turn on both the television and the cable box which entails extra steps, rather than just turning on the television.
In some cable boxes when the power is turned off on the cable box then power is turned off to the television as well. In this case, if the user forgets that the universal remote controller is in the cable mode and inadvertently turns off power to the cable box when the user wishes to turn off power to the television, then the cable box will be turned off which will result in the television being turned off as well. This is the result that the user actually wished to occur and the user may not notice that the cable box has also been turned off. In either case, there is a high likelihood that the mistake of turning off the power on the cable box is not corrected until the next viewing. In addition to the inconvenience of turning on the television as well as the cable box, there is a danger that a VCR connected to the cable box is programmed to record a program received via the cable box. If the cable box is off then the program will not be recorded.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for apparatus and methods for controlling turning on and off appliances which overcome the foregoing shortcomings.